Networking brings to mind men (yes, men) in three piece suits with firm handshakes, cocktail in hand, scanning my nametag (or age/gender/hair color) and looking past me for a more important person in the room.

On Saturday, I began writing this phrase over and over again, meditatively, uncontrollably, like a prayer. Like medicine for my soul as tears welled-up in my eyes.

“Release the outcome”

I had the great privilege of hearing Elaine Heath speak on trauma informed leadership during cultural shifts. Her contention is that all of us, as a society and as a church and as individuals, are impacted by trauma. So for any of us to lead, we need to do our own work and be informed about how best to care for and lead people who have experienced their own trauma. Especially acknowledging the role that the church has and can play in inflicting and reinforcing trauma.

Recently, I spent some time in an urban garden in the neighborhood of Earlsfield, in South London, UK. The garden stands between the largest prison in Europe and the busiest highway in the country. It’s named: Paradise.

Paradise, indeed. Bees buzz around their hives, pollinating the nearby sunflowers. Cherry tomatoes overflow, tasting like candy still warm from the sun. Rows and rows of cucumbers and kale, greens and carrots, grow next to wild blueberry bushes. And if that weren’t picturesque enough, a yurt perches in the back as a home for napping toddlers during their outdoor school days.